Mail-box.



F. W. CARPENTER.

4 MAIL BOX. APPLlCATlON FILED JAN-29,1916.

Patented Dec. 5, 1916.

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FRED W. CARPENTER, 0F LINDEN HEIGHTS, OHIO.

MAIL-BOX.

Application filed January 29, 1916.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, FRED W. CARPENTER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Linden Heights, in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, have invented new and useful Improvements in Mail-Boxes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to mail boxes for use along rural free delivery routes.

The primary object of the invention is to provide the box with manually operated lid raising mechanism including a lever having a portion thereof bent to provide a handle which is arranged exteriorly of the box so that, when the handle is depressed by the postman the lid of the box will be raised and maintained in a raised position as long as desired by a link connected with the cover and lever.

Another object of the invention is to provide the lid of the box with a guide member arranged to engage a signal on the box so that, when the handle on the lever included in the lid raising mechanism is depressed to raise the box lid the guide member will move the signal to lowered position to indicate that the contents of the box have been withdrawn therefrom.

A. still further object of the invention is to provide the lid raising mechanism with a lever which has a portion thereof bent to provide a handle extending beyond the box body and partially counterbalancing the weight of the lid of the box when the lid raising mechanism is operated.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a partition adjacent one end of the box between which and the end of the box is disposed the lever included in the lid raising mechanism so that when the lid is in a raised position the greater portion of said lever is held in contact with the front of the box by means of a link terminally connected with said lever and lid thus'insuring the lid being maintained in a raised position as long as desired.

A still further ob ect of the invention is to provide the box with a money receptacle detachably connected with the back of the box to enable the postman to extract money therefrom when climatic conditions are such that the postman is required to keep his hands incased in gloves.

Specification of Letters Patent.

position.

Patented Dec. 5, 1915..

Serial No. 75,155.

With these and other objects in view the invention resides in the novel combination and arrangement of parts, which will be hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

The preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated in the accompanying drawing, although no restriction is necessarily made to the precise details of construction therein shown, as changes, alterations and modifications within the scope of the claims may be resorted to when so de sired.

In the drawing: Figure 1 is a perspective view of the improved mail box showing the cover thereof supported in a raised position and the signal connected with the box lowered. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical sectional view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 showing the cover in a closed position. Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical sectional view on the line 33 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4: is an end elevation of the box showing the cover in closed Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view through the end of the box with which the finger is connected.

Like characters of reference denote corresponding parts throughout the several views in the drawing.

Referring now to the drawing in detail the numeral 1 designates a rectangular shaped box having side walls 2 and 3, and end walls 4: and 5 formed integral with the bottom 6. The end walls l and 5 being connected with the sidewalls 2 and 3 in any suitable manner although in this instance the end walls have been shown connected with the side walls of the box by means of rivets 7. The side wall 3 of the box is of greater height than the side wall 2 while each end wall l and 5 is provided with an inclined upper edge 8.

A. partition 9 extends transversely of the box'body and in spaced relation with the end wall 5, said partition corresponding in shape to said end wall and providing a compartment 10 within the box at one end thereof. The bottom 5 of the box 1 in the compartment 10 is provided with a slot 11, said slot extending upwardly in the side wall 2 for a short distance for a purpose which will be hereinafter described.

The end wall 5 is provided on its inner face witha centrally located depression 12 which nrovidestheend wall on its exterior face with a circular boss 13 upon which is j pivotally mounted a signal let which in this instance has'been shown as a flag. Extending laterally froni'the end wall exteriorly .of the boxbody are spaced p'ins 15 which i 7 indicate that mail thebox;

limit the swinging movement of the signal when lowered by the lid of the box or-when manually, moved to a vertical positlon to has been deposited w1th1n Extendinglongitudinally of the'box body and-within the same'is'a U-shaped strip '16 the terminals of which are secured to theside' wantin spaced relation with the endsv A and 5 ofthe box, said strip servingas a rack in which paper and envelops,

I; fingerl? so that, the back wall of the box "may be withdrawn from beneath the spring or the likemay be supported.

7 A spring finger 17 extends laterally from i the side wall 3 within the box body'and in spaced relation with the top and'bottom of the side wall to receive armoney recep 'Ttacle' 18' which comprises a box body 19 having a back wall 20 adapted to be held in contact with the side wall 3 bythe spring finger'to enable'the postman to extract the coin throughthe open top of the box. T he back wall 3 of the box is provided on 1ts exterior surface with attaching flanges 21 V whichare secured to the back wall 3 in any 7 suitable manner and enable the box to be connected with a post or the like. A flanged cover 22 is hingedly connected tothe top of the side wall 3 and is provided in one t fcorner' above the compartment 10 with a l depending Q1ip23 having-an aperture 2A. I

A U-shaped 'guide'member 25"is'ter m'inally connected withthe end 'of the cover 7 which over-lies the endwall 5 of the box body when thecover is closed said U-shaped '1 member being adapted toover-lie the staff 7 ofnthevsignal 14'when said signal is in iraised position. It being 'noted that by providingthe end wall 5"with the depression 12 the signal is spaced from the end wall 7 to insure thef'signal passing between the 'guidelinember 25 and the flange on the cover when the signal is manually'moved to a vertical position.

' lever 26 is'formed'fromra stripbf ma- "1' -iV- theend1of the, lever 2.6"which-extends with-' frOnt'wall 2 oflthe box. f 1 r Agli k 30'is terminally' connected with in the compartment 10 through the slot 11 and with the lip 23 on the hinged cover .handle to assist in raising the box cover when the lever is turned about its pivotal connection with the box for this purpose and also to assist the link 30 in holding the portion of the lever within the box in contact with the side wall 2 thereof so that the cover of the box may be maintained in a raised position by the link 30 until the lever 26 is restored to its normal position.

The pennant portion of the signal 14 has its bottom edge shaped to form a cam face 3lfWl1iC-l1 when the cover is in closed position isbrought into contact with one end of the U-shaped member by manually raising the signal to a vertical position to in dicate that mail has been deposited in the box.

When the cover of the box is in raised position and mail is deposited therein pressure upon the handle of the lever 26 to rockthe same will cause the link 30 to move the lid to a closed position whereupon the signal ll which was lowered through its contact with the guide member 25 by the raising of the lid may be again manually moved to indicating position.

hen it is desired to remove the contents of the: box the handle of the lever is depressed so that the link 30 will raise the cover of the box and hold the same in open position, such upward movement of the cover causing the guide member 25 to ride on the cam face on the signal and lower the same thus indicating that the contents of the box, has been removed.

From the foregoing statements it is at once apparent that a mail box has been provided having lid raising mechanism which when the lid is in raised position 'will support the same and also cause the 7 lid to move a visual signal connected with the box to a lowered position.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new is:

1. A mail box having a hinged cover, an end wall on the box provided with a circular depression forming a boss, a visual signal pivotally connected with the boss, a U-shaped guide member upon the cover adapted to contact with the signal when the signal is in raised position, and lid raising mechanism manually operable to raise'the box cover and lower the signal. 2. A mail box having a bottom provided 'witha slot extending into the side wall of the box, a partition disposed within the box andproviding a compartment adjacent the slot, a cover hingedlyconnected with the 7 box, a link connected with the cover, a strip. ofmaterial bent between its ends to provide a lever pivotally mounted Within In testimony whereof I afiix my signathe com artment and having one end 'exture in presence of two Witnesses. tending eyond the same, through said slot,

said lever being connected With the link, FRED CARPENTER 5 and an ofl'set portion in the extending end Witnesses:

of the lever exteriorly of the box body to ETHEL M. DENUNE,

provide a, handle. ELIAS E. DENUNE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

